Chapter 511 Extra Chapter: Who Am I in Your Eyes?
Ever since Xiao Lizhi accidentally let slip the secret to Li Yuan, Li Yuan has been completely baffled.
Although he examines himself three times a day—did I beat Erlang in the morning? Did I beat Erlang in the afternoon? Did I beat Erlang in the evening?
But after the fight, I still couldn't understand why Erlang would agree to Chengqian's absurd dream.
"Perhaps, Father, you could give me a chance to explain."
Li Shimin clutched his aching ribs, looking resentful. "Go ahead and ask if you want to know why! Bang bang, I just kept hitting you. Don't I, the Emperor of the Great Tang, have any dignity?"
"An explanation is just a cover-up!"
Li Yuan was displeased and suspected that he knew Chengqian was prone to crying and deliberately indulged him in order to seize his position as crown prince!
Sure enough, Chengqian only has him left!
"Well, you really did have ulterior motives!"
"no……"
Before Li Shimin could explain, his overthinking father chased after him and beat him up.
Impatient, Li Yuan refused to listen to any explanations and directly stripped Li Shimin of his right to educate him, deciding to personally tutor Chengqian!
The more he taught Chengqian, the more he discovered Chengqian's intelligence, and therefore the more dissatisfied he became with Erlang.
Li Shimin, driven to the brink of collapse by Li Yuan's "three self-examinations," had no choice but to personally explain the situation with his beloved son.
"Father, please sit down!"
Li Shimin stretched out his palm towards Li Yuan from afar, noticing that he began searching for a suitable weapon, and quickly spoke up, "Father, weren't you curious about why I agreed? If you don't want to hear my explanation, listen to Chengqian!"
Li Yuan's anger was rising; how could he possibly involve Chengqian? Whatever Chengqian knew, it was all Erlang's fault!
Li Yuan, who was biased to the extreme, glared angrily at Li Shimin, who could only smile helplessly and look to Li Chengqian for help.
Li Chengqian sighed helplessly. After all, he was his father, so what could he do but spoil him?
"Grandpa, listen to me."
Soon, a blackboard appeared in the Da'an Hall. This was developed by Li Chengqian when he was young, when he used a small bluebird as a human-shaped bookplate in the study of the Prince of Qin's mansion to tell his "spoiled brat cultivation plan". He found it inconvenient and then developed it.
Unexpectedly, it was still used to explain "纨绔" (wanku).
But this time, Li Chengqian decided to try a different approach to explain.
He walked up to the blackboard and quickly wrote a few names on it. Then, Li Chengqian turned to ask, "Father, you tell me, who are these people?"
If I'm not mistaken, he should be literate. Li Shimin blinked thoughtfully, pondering Li Chengqian's deeper meaning, before being slapped by an impatient Li Yuan. "I'm asking you a question!"
Li Shimin moved aside, looking aggrieved. He'd gotten carried away with the fight, hadn't he? Didn't you see he was thinking? Or was he just jealous that Chengqian hadn't asked him?
Turning to Chengqian, Li Shimin proudly puffed out his chest and replied, "This is your eldest uncle, Prince Jin, Li Jiancheng!"
"Wrong!" Li Chengqian pointed to an "X" without hesitation. Facing the two men's doubts, he pointed to Li Jiancheng's name and said loudly, "This is an outstanding talent in internal affairs who is loyal to the Tang Dynasty!"
"Father, look again, who is this?"
"This is your fourth uncle, Prince Qi, Li Yuanji," Li Shimin added, recalling Li Chengqian's earlier words, "a talent skilled in martial arts...?"
"Wrong!" Li Chengqian pointed out the mistake again, then bluntly introduced Li Yuanji by name, "This is a talent reserve who still needs training and is lacking in both civil and military affairs!"
After saying that, Li Chengqian turned around and wrote a few more surnames on the blackboard. He looked at Li Yuan and asked, "Grandfather, what are these?"
Finally, when his grandson asked him a question, Li Yuan sat up straight and began to think. Li Shimin, watching this, was itching to slap him, but he could only think about it.
Li Yuan carefully considered his words before speaking: "These are some of the most powerful and influential families in the Tang Dynasty at present."
"These are the talent pool of the Great Tang Dynasty!"
Upon hearing Li Chengqian's reply, Li Shimin couldn't help but feel aggrieved: "Chengqian, why don't you say that your father-in-law is wrong?"
Li Yuan turned and glared at him, thinking, "He still didn't hit me hard enough!"
"That's not important," Li Chengqian said dismissively, drawing a triangle on the blackboard to frame the names he had just written at the bottom. Then he wrote his own name in the top corner.
“I understand,” Li Shimin said, trying to get Chengqian’s attention. “Chengqian, you mean that you are the most outstanding talent, and your father thinks so too.”
“No,” Li Chengqian turned around, his expression serious, “I am the number one playboy of the Tang Dynasty!”
"..." Li Shimin remained silent, while Li Yuan was puzzled. How was this conclusion reached?
"Grandpa, do you know what conditions are required to become the number one playboy in the Tang Dynasty?"
“N-I don’t know…” Li Yuan hesitated. Did the status of a playboy really require an assessment?
"First of all, one must have a top-tier family background and a prestigious status. Doesn't my Crown Prince of the Great Tang Dynasty fit the bill perfectly?"
Li Yuan and Li Shimin nodded in unison.
"Next, I need to have the ability to do things unconventionally. The Tang Dynasty is full of talented people, so can I do things unconventionally?"
"You are the Crown Prince..."
Li Yuan tried to persuade his beloved grandson, but Li Chengqian interrupted him with a self-righteous tone: "That's right, I'm already the crown prince, why should I do anything? Are the others just sitting around doing nothing?"
"I have a wise and capable father who oversees the development of the Tang Dynasty, and various talented people to carry out specific tasks. Shouldn't I, as the crown prince, be the one to showcase the prosperity and splendor of the Tang Dynasty?"
"Aren't spoiled brats the best proof of a prosperous era? How can a chaotic era produce spoiled brats? It can only produce rulers who bring about the downfall of a country!"
Now that you put it that way, spoiled brats seem to be quite law-abiding and virtuous... Wait, is that reasonable?
"That makes sense! Absolutely!"
Li Shimin exclaimed in admiration, "Chengqian is right! With him around, Chengqian doesn't need to work hard at all; he can just be happy."
"Don't cause trouble!" Li Yuan couldn't help but slap Li Shimin again, but Li Shimin, who was prepared, dodged it.
He glared at him, then turned to look at the composed Chengqian. Li Yuan suddenly felt that there might actually be some truth to it.
Seeing Li Yuan's dilemma, Li Chengqian added, "As the saying goes, if you can't lead a team, you'll only work yourself to death! The most important thing to maintain my status as the number one playboy in the Tang Dynasty is that the Tang Dynasty cannot collapse. A well-functioning court is the foundation for maintaining my status as a playboy, so talented people are very important."
"So, Father, you know how to use Uncle now, right?"
Li Shimin suddenly realized that this was what he had been waiting for all along. When he said that he was giving Li Jiancheng the title of "Jin" in the hope that he would be cautious in his words and deeds, Chengqian's expression was so strange.
Looking back now, it was such a waste of manpower.
"Alright, Father, I understand. Don't worry."
With that, Li Shimin stood up and told Li Chengqian to go back to rest. He then turned to his silent father and teased, "Father, do you understand now?"
Li Yuan glanced at him sideways and sighed softly, "Chengqian has a natural mindset of ruling."
This is no mere playboy; he is clearly a prince with imperial talent disguised as a playboy. No wonder Erlang didn't refuse.
Tsk, now that I think about it, Erlang was just deliberately trying to make a fool of him?
"Erlang, come here."
"Father, don't come any closer!"
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